View full sizeKevin Peil, founder of Tri-City Brewing Co., pours a glass of beer in the brewery.Rachel Sonnenshine | MLive

BAY CITY, MI — Not in Bay City but craving a brew from the Tri-City Brewing Co.? Just hope there is a Meijer store nearby.

The Bay City-based brewery recently contracted with the grocery chain to sell its Hell's Half Mile Munich lager in every Meijer store in the state. Tri-City's Giantslayer, a Russian imperial stout, will be available in about 50 Meijer stores statewide.

Founder Kevin Peil said Meijer began test marketing Tri-City's beers at about 15 different stores in 2012.

"They were pretty pleased with the results," Peil said. "They decided they wanted to put us in every Meijer store in the state of Michigan."

Peil said Tri-City will easily be able to meet the increased demand for its product because the brewery was built with growth in mind. A wholesale manufacturer since 2007, Tri-City Brewing opened a tap room in early 2012, which has been gaining in popularity every month, Peil said.

The tap room, located at 3020 N. Water in Bay City and open to the public at 4 p.m. every Wednesday through Saturday, features many beers, including some that customers won't find anywhere else.

Last year, the brewery pumped out 709 barrels of beer, or about 4,000 cases and 80 kegs. This year, Peil said, they are aiming for about 900 barrels. Since Peil opened the brewery, it has expanded its sales to more than 240 restaurants and retailers in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Discussions are taking place with out-of-state distributors as well, and Peil expects to be on the shelves outside of Michigan in the coming months.

"Since our first year of production, we have probably increased 300 percent," Peil said. "We won't skip a beat at all meeting this new demand."